I recently commented on another blogger's post and mentioned that depression makes me hard to love. From their response, it seemed like they misinterpreted where I was going with that, so I thought it was worth doing a post about. I've written before about how I used to conceptualize separate well and ill selves. My … Continue reading Does Mental Illness Make You Hard to Love?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term: enmeshment Enmeshment was first described by family therapist Salavador Minuchin. It occurs when there is an extreme lack of boundaries, which prevents healthy differentiation into autonomous individuals. It tends to be seen most often in families, although it … Continue reading What is… Enmeshment
He's a Porn Addict... Now What?: An Expert and a Former Addict Answer Your Questions by Tony Overbay and Joshua Shea is written to serve as a resource for partners of men with pornography addictions. It's a unique combination of viewpoints – Tony is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and Josh is a former … Continue reading Book Review: He’s a Porn Addict… Now What?
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Kacha of … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Kacha
All She Wrote: Catharsis & Absolution, is a book of poetry by Paula Light. It focuses on the myriad emotions that go along with relationship heartbreak. There are poems about narcissism, gaslighting, and other highly charged circumstances. There's also a poem about a non-starter online relationship and Google stalking. Here are some of my favourite … Continue reading Book Review: All She Wrote
It's week 14 of the Working On Us mental health prompt series over at Beckie's Mental Madness. If you'd like to participate, please refer to Beckie's post for the details. This week's topic is relationships and boundaries. Question Prompt: How would you describe your relationships with family and friends? I used to be close to my … Continue reading Working On Us – Week 14 – Family and Friends
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Sarah from … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Sarah
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Mike and … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Mike & Kayleigh-Marie
The emerging blogger series is aimed at community building through giving mental health bloggers who are early in their blogging evolution the opportunity to have their work seen by a wider audience. It's also a way to introduce you as a reader to some newer members of our community. This post is by Tigerchelle of … Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Tigerchelle
For those of us who are single, whether we want to be or not, Valentine's day can feel like it's created for the express purpose of making single people feel shitty about themselves. Saint Valentine is a Catholic saint who is also recognized in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. His history isn't entirely clear, but … Continue reading Happy un-Valentine’s day
I've been thinking lately about my inability to maintain relationships with people. Depression has caused me to shut a lot of people out of my life. Mostly I haven't given it much thought, but it dawned on me that it has to do with a sense of brokenness. My illness makes it hard to be … Continue reading Brokenness
The ways we can connect with others have changed a great deal since I was a kid in the 80s. Technology is light years ahead of where it used to be, which makes connecting easier in some ways, but mental illness likes to get in the way and put up roadblocks. Back in the 80s, … Continue reading How do we connect with others?
I feel trapped in several areas of my life. Trapped in a few different ways, and really not sure how to get myself out. The most obvious is that I feel trapped in my depression. I'm feeling at a loss as to what to do. I'm managing ok for the most part, but I want … Continue reading Trapped
I think most of us probably have a few of them in our lives: the people that want to be supportive, but they're just way off the mark. The fixer: This is the person who wants to figure out how to solve your problems because then you'll no longer have anything to be mentally ill … Continue reading How not to be supportive
I live in a figurative cave that is of my own making (although I suppose of my depression's making would be more accurate). I have pushed nearly everyone out of my life, and while that is occasionally lonely, it feels much easier. My oldest friend keeps trying to remain in my life, even though I … Continue reading The Cave My Depression Built